Cats missing, injured, hung in owners’ yards

At least 65 cats have been killed, while countless others have gone missing, been maimed or, even worse, been discovered hanging in their owners' front yards.

"Put it this way, I would never own a cat and live around here ... because they always disappear," one resident said.

The Blue Mountains is the only Australian city completely surrounded by a national park.

More than 50 per cent of domestic cats hunt live prey, according to Sydney University ecologist Professor Christopher Dickman, with possums, birds and lizards the most common victims.

Dozens of cats have gone missing in the Blue Mountains. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Feral cats kill as many as 30 animals per day, have wiped out at least 20 native mammal species and are identified as a factor in the decline of at least 80 other threatened species.

Unlike dogs, it is not illegal for cats to roam free. It is legal to seize a cat that is threatening wildlife or in a wildlife protection area - hence how many cats in the Blue Mountains are trapped.

Cats that are caught must be taken to an impound facility or back to the owner, according to the RSPCA. However, many owners believe environmental vigilantes and "bird avengers" are simply killing the cats.

The Sunday Telegraph has spoken to five cat owners who are still searching for their missing pets.

Former vet nurse Tara Honeyman said she can never forget the day when a North Katoomba resident walked in to her animal shelter and said his "friendly and approachable" cat was missing.

"Two days later came back in to say he found his cat dead, hanging by a noose in his back yard," Ms Honeyman, 44, said.

"He was distraught. He could not understand why anybody would do that. It was such a friendly cat. That is pretty hideous and sadistic animal cruelty. I feel like someone was trying to send a message."

The Cat Protection Society member said Blue Mountains residents either love or loathe cats.

"A lot of cats go missing and a lot of cats go missing in North Katoomba," Ms Honeyman, a former City of Sydney companion animals officer and mother of two, said.

"There are definitely cat-haters here. There is a view out there that cats are responsible for every bit of environmental degradation."

Ms Honeyman keeps her cats in an enclosure and recommends all her cat-owning clients do something similar.